Beneficiaries of Amref training have organised the Uzazi Uzima football championship during which participants and spectators receive sexual and reproductive health, and maternal and newborn health information. This is a great way to engage male members of the community who can be hard to reach. Photograph courtesy of Amref Health Africa UK.

Across Tanzania, the maternal mortality rate was recorded as rising from 432 per 100,000 live births in 2012 (as per the National Census Report), to 556 per 100,000 in 2015/16 (as per the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey). The situation for women and pregnant mothers is becoming worse, not better. The Tanzanian Ministry of Health has identified the Simiyu region as a priority in tackling poor maternal and child health outcomes.

Uzazi Uzima II, meaning ‘Safe Deliveries’ aims to address this by increasing the use and availability of quality maternal and new-born health services within the Simiyu region. Examples of activities supported by this grant include:

Lottie, Medical Technician in-charge, washing his hands before treating a patient at Chamwabvi Health Centre, Kasungu, Malawi, November 2017. Chamwabvi Health Centre is one of the health facilities that prompted WaterAid to develop the Deliver Life project. How the health facility failed to sustain itself to the point of having patients and guardians bring water simply to keep things running was a sad sight to see. There were also a lot of cases where women would deliver and not have water to clean themselves, which posed a serious risk of sepsis infection. WaterAid staff were happy to witness how happy the staff members were in having running water, especially in the maternity ward. Before this project some had applied for transfers but are now happy to stay and serve the community. Having water at the facility has made a huge difference.
Photograph courtesy of WaterAid/Dennis Lupenga.

According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Report, only 25% of health clinics in Malawi have access to clean water, 8% have no toilets at all and 54% do not have waste receptacles. As a result, clinics are not hygienic and midwives are unable to wash their hands between deliveries, increasing the risk of bacterial infections, often fatal for mothers and newborns. This project focusses on delivering water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions to the health clinics and communities in the Nkhotakota, Kasungu and Machinga districts of Malawi.

We are supporting the final year of this project, which aims to:

Supply 16 health facilities with improved, inclusive WASH services.

Train community facilitators and health facility staff on WASH and Mother and Newborn Health.

Provide 24,000 people with access to sustainable and inclusive WASH services.